THE PORCH LIGHT
Hi there!
Chilean developer Lucas Martinic got the original Super Mario 64 running in mixed reality, in real 3D at 90 frames per second. Mario can jump out of the game and run around on his actual desk. Check it out…
He built it using an original copy of the game, and we don’t know if he has any plans on building it out commercially, but we know some kids who’ll backflip when they see this.
Back in the real world, our smart homes are a lot less impressive when the fibre drops. So we worked out what still works when the internet goes down, and how to fix what doesn't.
We also look at:
Why alarms still on 2G are dropping offline
Why your smart devices vanished after a new router
Amazon's new Echo that maps your house
The robot ducks that stole Nvidia's keynote
And way, way more…
Has your smart home ever gone dumb on you during an outage? Hit reply and tell us what broke.
Justin, Kobus and Rowen
THE BIG ONE · AUTOMATION AND CONTROL
What still works in your smart home when the internet goes down
When the fibre drops, the power flickers or a company's servers fall over, will your lights and plugs be fine? Even if the app just says they're offline?
Where your smart home actually lives
Most cheap Wi-Fi smart plugs and bulbs run through the maker's cloud. On Tuya, the platform behind the Smart Life app, standalone Wi-Fi devices fall back to the cloud for automations. No internet, no automation.
Homes built on local systems behave differently. When a 15-hour Amazon Web Services outage hit last year, smart homes running Zigbee, Matter and Home Assistant kept working.
It’s important, because outages keep happening: in August, a Google Home outage left Nest speakers and hubs unresponsive, and some owners factory-reset hardware that wasn't broken. In January, Belkin switched off Wemo's cloud. Only devices already set up in Apple Home kept working locally.
What about security?
Ah, the big one: cameras that record to a microSD card or a recorder keep recording without internet. You lose phone alerts and live view until it's back, but your security still essentially functions.
Cloud-only cameras don't: every Google Nest Cam has no local fallback.
Your alarm is a different story, because SA alarm signalling to the control room typically runs over LTE or VHF radio, not your fibre — we in SA are usually well covered there.
But it’s all still worth testing…
The 10-minute test
Unplug the cable between your fibre box and router. Your Wi-Fi stays on, but the internet goes. Now try everything: lights, plugs, automations and cameras. Whatever stops working depends on someone else's servers.
Make it survive
Run the test (free). Note what failed.
Move automations onto a hub (free if you have one). In Smart Life, automations between devices on the same Zigbee gateway run on the gateway itself, with no cloud.
Put a microSD card in every camera that takes one. Footage keeps saving when the internet doesn't.
Keep the router alive (~R839). A router UPS like the Mecer DC UPS-5200 keeps Wi-Fi and the fibre box running through a power cut, so local control still has a network.
Buy local-first next time. Look for Zigbee, Matter, or Wi-Fi devices that work in LAN mode without internet.
The signal
A smart home should still be smart with the fibre down. Run the 10-minute test this weekend, then fix what failed, starting with the cameras.
THE CONTROL ROOM
2G is fading, and alarms still on it are dropping offline
There's no switch-off date for 2G in South Africa. Government dropped its 2027 deadline in July 2025 and left the timing to the networks. This week, Vodacom said 3G could go within 12 to 24 months, and that 2G will hang on longer because it still carries feature phones and machine-to-machine devices. Alarm communicators are machine-to-machine devices.
No deadline doesn't mean no problem. 2G is already wearing out, area by area.
What the network data shows
Olarm compared 2G and 4G signal quality across about 50,000 of its communicators that can use both. The averages point one way:
2G devices are about five times more likely to drop and reconnect than 4G devices.
When a tower goes down, 2G devices see almost double the downtime of 4G ones.
In some provinces, 2G performance is falling sharply, and whole towns have lost 2G in one go.
In some towns, only one network still carries 2G. A device there looks online, but it has lost its backup network without anyone noticing.
If it's your alarm
An alarm that drops off the network can't send a signal when it matters. Your alarm's link to the control room runs over the cellular network, not your fibre. If your system is more than a few years old, ask your installer one question: is my communicator 2G only? If it is, ask what it takes to move it to 4G. Units that can also use your Wi-Fi are less exposed, but still worth upgrading.
If you install or monitor alarms
The switch-off won't arrive as a date. It will arrive tower by tower. When a town goes dark on 2G, every site there needs a visit at the same time, and installers have already been caught reinstalling hundreds of devices in a hurry. The quieter risk is the single-network site, which still reports as online but has no fallback left. Moving those sites to 4G now costs less than an emergency callout later.
The signal
No one will announce the day your area loses 2G. Find out what your alarm runs on now, and move it to 4G before the local tower decides for you.
FIVE SIGNALS
Smart insights, short and sweet
SAFE AND SOUND Update your iPhone this week. Apple's iOS 27.2 brings over 160 security fixes, and many were also backported to iOS 26. Apple also patched a flaw it says may have been exploited against specific people on older versions. Signal: Settings, General, Software Update. Five minutes, done.
AUTOMATION Amazon's new Echo maps your house. The new Echo Show 16 can use cameras to build an Alexa Home Map showing where your smart devices are, and the new Echo Studio speaker has a camera too. Signal: Smart speakers are growing eyes. Check what yours can see before it goes in the bedroom.
MONEY A Smart ID now takes five minutes. You can now apply at 873 service points, including bank branches, and it takes about five minutes. Home delivery is coming soon. Signal: Still carrying the green ID book? It's a known fraud target, so swap it.
WORK AND PLAY The iPad mini gets an OLED screen. Apple's new iPad mini has an 8.5-inch OLED display and the A20 Pro chip. It starts at $700 (about R11,680) in the US, and SA pricing isn't out yet. Signal: The outgoing model starts at R12,300 locally, so don't expect the new one to be cheaper.
ROBOTICS The robot ducks that stole Nvidia's keynote. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had four Microduck robots sit, nap and somersault on command at his GTC Berlin keynote, and preorders passed 20,000 the next day. Owners can teach them new tricks. Signal: At a reported $399 (about R6,570), this could be the robot toy everyone wants for Christmas.
WORTH IT?
Shelly 1PM Mini Gen4 (2-pack)
R999 at Takealot
BUY for smart lights that keep working with the internet down. WAIT if you're not ready to pay an electrician to fit it.
It fits behind your existing light switch, so the switch on the wall keeps working as normal. It runs on your own Wi-Fi and has a LAN mode that works without internet. It also speaks Zigbee and Matter, so it fits into most smart home systems. Each relay handles up to 8A, which is built for lights, and measures the power going through it.
The catch is that this is wiring, not plugging in. It needs an electrician to install it behind the switch.
THE FIX
You got a new router and half your smart devices went offline
Most smart plugs and bulbs remember your Wi-Fi by its name and password, not by the router. Change either, and they're lost.
01 Give the new router your old Wi-Fi name and password, exactly, character for character, on WPA2 rather than WPA3-only. Most devices reconnect on their own.
02 Switch off "Smart Connect" or band steering, or give the 2.4GHz band its own network with the old name. Most smart plugs can only see 2.4GHz.
03 Still offline? Tuya and Smart Life devices may need to be re-added even with the same details, because the router encrypts the password differently. Remove the device, reset it and add it again, then rebuild any automations it was part of.
ONE AUTOMATION
Motion-sensor lights that work with the internet down
WHEN your Zigbee motion sensor picks up movement
THEN your Zigbee light switches on
AND it runs on the gateway, so it works with the fibre down
You need a Tuya Zigbee gateway, a Zigbee motion sensor and a Zigbee light or switch, all added to the same gateway in the free Smart Life app. About ten minutes.
01 Open Smart Life, tap the Smart tab at the bottom, then tap + in the top-right corner.
02 Choose When device status changes, pick your motion sensor and select its motion-detected state.
03 Tap + to add a task, pick your light and set it to On.
04 Tap Save and give the automation a name. Because every device in it belongs to the same gateway, Tuya hands it to the gateway after a few minutes, and it then runs locally.
05 Test it: unplug the cable between your fibre box and router, then walk past the sensor. If the light comes on, it's running locally.
EVENTS
Coming up
Africa Tech Festival · 17–19 November · CTICC, Cape Town. The continent's big telecoms show, with a free expo.
rAge Expo · 27–29 November · Johannesburg. Gaming, gadgets and South Africa's biggest LAN party.
THE LIST
4 Deals to consider this week
Item | Where | Price |
|---|---|---|
Govee Floor Lamp 2 smart RGB floor lamp | Govee | R2,499 |
BNETA IN04 smart Wi-Fi power strip | Takealot | R999 |
Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen smart speaker | Makro | R1,699 |
Aqara T1 Zigbee door and window sensor | Amazon | R336 |
The biggest saving is R1,500 off the Govee Floor Lamp 2. Shop around before you buy, though. Amazon's early Black Friday sale has been running since 21 October, and Takealot is adding new Black Friday-priced deals every week until 23 November, ahead of the main day on 27 November.
